The Peter family tree has strong roots going back to Joseph Peter born 1770 in Sandiver, Baden, Germany.  The family arrived in Lake County in 1882 and settled at Orange Bend, small community between Leesburg and Lisbon on Lake Harris.  Henry Julius Peter and his 5 children moved from Macon.  One of the sons was Emmett Blackshear Peter.  His middle name was taken from the doctor who delivered him on June 2, 1872 in Macon, GA.

Emmett Blackshear Peter, Sr. married his secretary, Mary Ellen Brown, in 1917 in a ceremony at the Mote Morris House. Bishop Morrison conducted the ceremony.   They moved to Sunnyside and lived in a bungalow.  Later as the family grew, they moved to a house on Herndon across from what was Lee Elementary.   Emmett started in the citrus business when he was 18 with two mules and a wagon. He'd go from grove to grove, buying citrus to ship by rail to other states. These buyers are known in the industry as ‘bird dogs’.  They provide a valuable service, especially for smaller growers that had a problem finding a market for their crop.  Eventually Emmett saved enough money to buy 125 acres near Leesburg and build a packinghouse.  It was located in Leesburg on 6th Street and the railroad tracks.
 
The Florida Department of Agriculture report on fruit shipments for the 1938-39 season shows E. B. Peter Packing of Leesburg moved 45,578 boxes of fruit.  This was not a large volume.  There were only 11 packinghouses listed for Lake County that year.  The Peter Packinghouse was not listed in the 1933 report that had 27 houses in Lake County.  This is strange because in 1931 E. B. Peter was one of 66 shipper members of the Florida Citrus Growers Clearing House Association.  This organization boasted of having 10,000 grower members in addition to the shippers.  Their goal was to assure mature high-quality fruit was shipped and to maximize returns to growers.  Mr. Peter was also a member of the Fruitman’s Association in 1931.  This organization was involved in assuring President Roosevelt’s New Deal did not ‘harm’ Florida citrus growers.

A list of business in Leesburg in 1923 shows E. B. Peter’s office at 401 W. Main Street. 
The 1921 Quarterly Bulletin from the Department of Agriculture lists the results of a fruit test for E. B. Peter, and the 1918 publication shows tests run on Peter’s fruit. Having fruit tested for internal quality does not necessarily mean he was operating a packinghouse, but as a ‘bird dog’ he may have wanted to see the quality of the fruit he was buying.  At least it appears Mr. Peter was in the citrus business in 1918.

Citrus has been part of the Peter family for several generations.  In the business records was an invoice for a ‘wind machine’.  These devices are used to mix warm air aloft with cold air that has settled close to the ground in a grove.  Many growers installed them especially in ‘pockets’.  Emmett, Jr. purchased one and Emmett, III remembers when they attempted to operate it during the first freeze that came after it was installed. Note ‘attempted’ for the machine would not start!  The machine is still standing surrounded by a few cabbage palms and is known as ‘Judas’ by the family.  Ah, the adventures of being a citrus grower.

Frog Log is a family treasure that Emmett, Sr. established on Lake Harris.  This is excerpts from the ‘information’ notice posted at the ‘cabin’ written by Emmett, Jr.

The original Frog Log Camp, the present kitchen, was the abandoned railroad station at Sadie, skidded to the site via mule sled in 1915 by my father, Emmett Peter Sr., shortly after he bought the Kaufmann Grove.  Two years later, my father proposed to my mother – his secretary, Mary Ellen Brown – under the big oak tree.  They were married in 1917.  Many years later in 1944, I proposed to Marjorie under the same tree, as did Murray Tucker and Marcia and Emmett Peter III and Terre James.  Our daughter Melanie was married under the tree.

After Frog Log was enlarged in the 1950’s, it became the family guest cottage.  Although hundreds of people have stayed here, we can’t think of one famous or noteworthy guest. The camp house is headquarters for other creatures such as blue herons who fish from the dock; red-winged blackbirds, cormorants and several colonies of osprey, a fish hawk closely related to the eagle.  In addition, there are families of playful otters.  An alligator will drift by occasionally, but don’t be afraid, for no gator has ever been known to come ashore here.  Yes, there are some snakes, but they won’t bother you unless you step on one.  Just watch where you walk and stay out of deep grass or weeds.

The family continues to enjoy the Lake Harris ‘escape’ Emmett, Sr. established over 100 years ago!